


Truce?

by Tamasha



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Established Relationship, Explicit Language, Feels, Fights, Fluff, Gay, Kissing, Living Together, Love, M/M, Male Slash, Marriage Proposal, Modern Era, Relationship(s), Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-21
Updated: 2015-07-21
Packaged: 2018-04-10 10:14:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4387919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tamasha/pseuds/Tamasha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin and Arthur moved in together three weeks ago, and they have been fighting ever since. As the two carefully learn how to live together, they will also learn how deep their feelings for each other go.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Truce.

**Author's Note:**

> written by Tamara

Merlin pulled his hat down over his ears. It was more cold than he had anticipated. He didn’t want to go out anyway, but Arthur nearly literally dragged him to the pub.

“Stop sulking,” Arthur grunted, angrily. “You could have said ‘no’ if you didn’t want to come.”

Merlin scoffed. “Well then fine, I’m going back.”

“No, Merlin…” Arthur began, but he realized he didn’t want to give up on his anger quite yet. “Nevermind, go home.”

“Nice,” Merlin spat, and began to walk away. “I’ll just go home and do all the dishes then.”

Arthur sighed and yelled after his boyfriend. “And I’ll finally get some time without you nagging me incessantly.”

Merlin slumped his shoulders and tried to ignore Arthur, but what he was really trying to ignore was the guilt rising in his chest. Damnit. Merlin did want some time out of the house, and to try to actually have a good time with Arthur. They had only lived together for three weeks, yet they were already fighting non-stop. Merlin wondered if they were actually meant to be together…

 _Fuck._ What was Merlin thinking? He loved Arthur. Couples fought sometimes. That’s all. He turned around and watched Arthur walk with his red hoodie pulled over his head, down the steps to the pub on the corner. Maybe one drink wouldn’t hurt. Merlin swallowed his pride and walked back towards the pub.

“I thought you weren’t coming?” Arthur mumbled when Merlin entered the dimly lit pub.

“I wanted a drink. I didn’t come for you.” Maybe he hadn’t swallowed all of his pride.

The pub was pretty empty, but it was only 8 on a Wednesday, so that was to be expected. Arthur ordered a beer, and Merlin half-expected Arthur to order Merlin’s cider also. But he didn’t. He just took his beer and went to find a seat. Merlin ordered a pear cider and found himself a seat at the bar. He caught Arthur looking at him, just for a moment; he was probably expecting Merlin to follow him.

Merlin had sat down next to an attractive, short man with long brown hair. He had an empty pitcher in front of him and a glass half-full of beer. His head fell towards Merlin in a clumsy swoop. He scowled at Merlin, and then sat up straight, looking Merlin up and down. “Hey there, gorgeous.”

Merlin’s eyes widened, and he looked behind him. No one was there. The stranger was referring to Merlin. “Erm…”

The drunk man pet Merlin’s hair. “I’m Gwaine. And who are you?” He scooted forward and kept his hand on Merlin’s cheek.

“I… Erm. I’m Merlin,” Merlin muttered. He eyed Arthur, who was either shooting daggers at the man or Merlin, Merlin couldn’t tell which. Maybe both. “I have a -”

The man stopped Merlin with his dirty finger on Merlin’s lips. “Shh-shhh-shhhh. Let me buy you a drink.”

“No thanks. My boyfriend is right over there.” Merlin pointed across the room, but Arthur was gone.

Gwaine turned around to look where Merlin was pointing but was greeted with Arthur standing right in front of him. “Excuse me,” Arthur commanded. “What is going on here?”

Merlin just shrugged. Now that Arthur was here, Merlin could laugh easily at the situation and was holding back a grin. “He wants to buy me a drink, Arthur. Can you believe it?” Merlin chuckled.

Arthur grabbed Gwaine’s collar and pulled him to his feet. “Leave him alone. Now. Or you’ll have me to deal with. Got it?” Gwaine took a step back and seemed offended by Arthur’s abrupt move. Then he puffed up his chest and stumbled out the door without another word.

Arthur just sighed and didn’t look at Merlin for a moment. Merlin smiled a bit. It was kinda funny how Arthur rushed over so quickly, and Merlin could admit it was pretty sweet as well. “I was going to marry him,” Merlin cooed dramatically. “Oh well, I guess I’ll have to settle for you.” Merlin said simply and took a sip of his cider.

“What?” Arthur spat.

Merlin realized what he had said. “Erm… Oh, shit. I meant. Erm…”

Arthur gawked at Merlin for a moment while Merlin struggled for an explanation. Finally he deflated and dropped to the bar stool where Gwaine had been sitting. “I guess I’ll just have to settle for you, too,” he finally said, as mildly as Merlin had.

Now it was Merlin who looked surprised, but Arthur playfully nudged him and Merlin let out a chuckle. “Well, I guess you’re stuck with me.”

“Yeah.” Arthur blushed. “I guess I am.” Then he leaned over and kissed Merlin on the cheek.

“Truce?” Merlin asked sheepishly.

“Yeah.” Arthur said as he stood and pulled Merlin up to him for a real kiss. “Truce.”

 

~~~

 

They were both a little drunk when they reached the apartment again. Arthur could not stop thinking about what Merlin had said in the bar. He had made a very casual comment about marriage.

Arthur wondered if Merlin had really thought seriously about it. They had told each other that they could see it happening "one day" but there was never a real conversation about it. Merlin could have accidentally slipped that comment in because he did think about it a lot, or it could have just been another one of Merlin’s clumsy mistakes. Either way, it should be brought up again because Arthur thought about it all the time. He reached into his jeans pocket and squeezed the ring that was inside. It had been there for three weeks now and Arthur hadn’t yet found the right time to ask.

Merlin crawled into bed half naked. He hadn’t bothered to finish putting on his night shirt, so he lay with one sleeve on, and one arm out. Maybe he was more drunk than Arthur had thought. He smiled and crawled after his boyfriend to help him finish getting dressed for bed.

"Merlin?" Arthur was uncertain if he was ready to take this step, but it was a step with Merlin, and as long as he was stepping with Merlin, it was in the right direction.

"Arthur?" Merlin offered a sloppy smile as a further response.

Arthur finished helping Merlin into his clothes and kissed his forehead. "Good night, Merlin."

"Mmm," Merlin moaned in contentment. He rolled over and was fast asleep in seconds.

Arthur had the rest of his life to ask. He was certain of that. It didn’t need to be said, it was just a formality, really. He wanted to make it special though. Merlin would never expect Arthur to make a giant romantic gesture. Arthur smiled as ideas rushed into his head. He pulled a drunk Merlin towards him and settled in for the night. "I love you forever, Merlin," he whispered.


	2. Life Begins Again

Both were running late and they both had dreadful hangovers, which wasn’t helping either of them to get ready any faster. Arthur was angry that his clothes weren't dry enough to wear, let alone iron. Merlin had tried to make breakfast but burnt the toast. Now sober, and back to real life, they had started fighting all over again. Merlin was sick of it. They were both tired of it, truthfully. They had spent such a good night together last night, but now it didn't seem to make a difference what they did. Neither really knew why they were fighting anymore; life just kept slapping them in the face.  
Both left the flat at the same time in silence. Arthur locked the door behind him while Merlin stomped off down the hallway. He didn’t even know why, he just was tired of fighting and wanted to leave as soon as possible. "Merlin!" Arthur called out.  
Merlin turned to face Arthur, a few feet away. "Yeah?" He braced himself for another lecture on laundry or a comment about breakfast.  
"I love you." Arthur walked to Merlin and pulled him in for a warm embrace. "We are going to be fine." He kissed Merlin on the top of his head and Merlin knew Arthur meant it. He knew Arthur was right, they would be fine.  
Merlin pulled away enough to look up at Arthur. "Yeah. We will. And I love you too, Arthur." They held each other for a moment longer, forgetting how late they both were going to be. It all felt so petty with Arthur’s strong arms wrapped around him. Merlin suddenly didn’t care about dishes or Arthur’s socks in the tub; all of that dissolved instantly. The only thing that mattered was that Arthur was still here. In Merlin’s arms. Where he belonged.

Arthur was nervous. He shouldn't be; it was Merlin. And he would say yes. Right? Yes. Merlin would say yes. So why was Arthur so nervous? Only Merlin could make him feel this way - flustered and uncertain, yet so sure of himself.  
Arthur paced the balcony of their apartment. He had done his best to make a nice meal for dinner. He wanted to take Merlin out to an expensive restaurant - do the whole fancy dinner and wine deal - but there was no way they could afford that right now.  
Arthur was in his best suit. Well, he had only one suit. He had it dry cleaned special, just for tonight. Merlin would be so proud. It was already 7:03. Why was Merlin late? Arthur looked at the unopened bottle of wine on the table he had set up outside. It would have been nice to have something to calm his nerves, but everything needed to be perfect for when Merlin arrived.  
A key jingled faintly and then the door rattled. Arthur straightened himself out and waited for Merlin to see him out on the balcony of their flat. Merlin entered slowly, and put down his satchel by the door, as usual. His class must have run late, because he looked very annoyed. He flopped face-first onto the couch without even taking off his shoes. Clearly, he had not seen Arthur staring intently at him through the glass door.  
Arthur opened the sliding glass door, and entered the room hesitantly. Merlin didn’t move from his awkward position on the couch, just spoke into the cushions. "What were you doing outside?"  
"Let me show you." It was hard for Arthur to hide his excitement so he tried to stay vague.  
Merlin pushed his upper body off the couch and scowled at Arthur. "I'm not in the mood tonight."  
"Come on," Arthur begged.  
Merlin huffed a sigh and propped himself on his elbows. "Just show me tomorrow."  
"I want to show you now, Merlin." Arthur kept smiling, but he did his best to remain as serious as he could manage.  
"I found out I failed a test in Economics tonight. I'm doing so poorly in that class compared to my other classes." He rolled over onto his back and rubbed his eyes. "I don’t think I'm cut out for this. I know I want to stay in school, but I'm just struggling with this class. Plus, work is crazy and I feel like I'm just stuck there. I don't think I am doing my best with any of it."  
Arthur glanced at the nice arrangement on the balcony, and then looked back at Merlin with a sympathetic smile. It could wait. Arthur moved to the couch, kneeling in front of Merlin. "Hey. You are doing your best." Arthur stroked Merlin's hair. "Sometimes even the best people have bad days. But don't think that one grade will affect your entire school career. You will become a teacher, Merlin. That's what you are meant to be, and I believe in you."  
Merlin looked confused then sat up and faced Arthur. "Why are you being so sweet tonight?"  
Arthur shrugged a guilty shrug. Merlin wasn’t being rude, this behavior truly was rare from Arthur, lately. He felt a bit guilty that Merlin was surprised by his actions. They both had so easily gotten caught up in their separate lives that they had forgotten how to be good to each other. Arthur wanted to try harder. He knew he could try harder for Merlin. That was what tonight was supposed to be about anyway, showing Merlin his resolve.  
"Because I want to." Arthur stood and took Merlin’s hands. "And because I am glad you are my boyfriend." Merlin stood too as Arthur pulled him up. They locked eyes and Merlin smiled for the first time since walking in the door. "And because it's all true."  
"What is going on?" Merlin chuckled.  
"Come outside," Arthur hummed in Merlin’s ear. Merlin was enjoying this attention too much; he actually giggled. As soon as Merlin looked out the glass door he gasped. Satisfied, Arthur led Merlin by the shoulders to the door. He opened the sliding glass door, and gestured to Merlin to step out onto the terrace.  
"Okay. What the hell, Arthur?" Merlin asked as he sat hesitantly in the far chair. The table was covered in a red tablecloth and set with their fanciest silverware, which only meant it was not plastic. There was a semi-appetizing looking meal on the plates Arthur had received as a gift.  
Arthur opened the bottle of Pinot Noir and poured them each a glass. "To the greatest philosophy teacher in the Northern Hemisphere."  
Merlin laughed. "Only the Northern Hemisphere?"  
"Well, I can’t say for certain -"  
"Go on," Merlin coaxed.  
Arthur blushed and raised his glass a bit higher. "And to my boyfriend, without whom I could not live."  
Merlin shook his head and covered his smile with a hand. "You are such a dork."  
"To Merlin," Arthur finished, and took a seat.  
Merlin furrowed his brows as he scanned the setting, trying to figure out what Arthur was doing, or if there was some catch to it all. "Okay. I give up. What do you want?"  
Arthur rested his hand on his chin and looked up at the night sky, pretending to think about it. Then he looked back at Merlin and shrugged. "I guess I just want you to marry me."  
Merlin scoffed in disbelief, then his smile disappeared once he realized Arthur had meant it. He let out a nervous laugh. "What..."  
Arthur reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring that had been waiting there three weeks too long. A lifetime too long. "I knew from the moment I met you that there was no one else for me." Merlin still was stunned and couldn’t take his eyes off Arthur long enough to look at what Arthur held in his hands. "You were so weird and uncoordinated, I fell in love with you instantly. But it took me some time to realize that was what it was." Arthur stood and looked at the ring as he moved to the other side of the table. "I didn't know what love was till I met you, Merlin." He got on on one knee in front of Merlin, who was covering his gaping mouth with one hand, eyes bulging from his head. "I want to spend the rest of my life figuring out exactly what that is with you, Merlin. To figure out if it's possible for me to fall even more in love with you. So I just want to know if you would do me one little favor."  
Merlin swallowed back his tears. "What's that?" he whispered through his growing smile.  
"Will you marry me?"  
Merlin didn’t answer, he just pulled Arthur in for a kiss and wrapped his arms around his neck. They both stood up, and Merlin didn’t stop kissing for a long moment. Arthur reluctantly broke away from the perfectly frantic kiss. "So... is that a yes?" he ventured.  
"Damnit, Arthur. I couldn’t last a day without you." Merlin smiled and played with the hair on the back of Arthur’s head. After a pause he finally said, "I'll always say 'yes', Arthur. I love you forever."

 

~~~

 

They still fought. Honestly, Merlin would have been concerned if the fighting stopped immediately. But things felt different after Arthur proposed. Merlin could call him his 'fiancé' rather than 'boyfriend', and that was nice. Whenever they did fight it always ended the same. Like now. Arthur was yelling at Merlin for not drying the clothes for long enough.  
"They are still wet. You can ruin them if they sit like that for too long, Merlin!"  
Merlin knew just how to fix this. "Yup. I know." He smiled at Arthur innocently. Step one: get Arthur to second guess the fight.  
"Are you even listening to me?" Step two: let him question his dominance.  
"Yup."  
"Merlin!" Step three: get him really mad.  
"Arthur!" Final stage: Arthur is silent. Merlin just smiles again and places his arms around Arthur’s waist. "You're the one who wants to marry me."  
Arthur does his best to stay angry, but fails every time. "Shut up, Merlin." Then comes the kiss.  
It doesn't matter what they were fighting about. All that needed to be done, each time, was for one of them to remind the other how helplessly in love he was. They were useless now. Nothing would get done. But Merlin wouldn’t have it any other way.


	3. Life Without You

Arthur was working when he got the call. His phone was in his locker, so he didn’t listen to the voicemail till after he clocked out. He had been working a 12-hour shift, and security guards were only allowed their assigned walkie-talkies on shift, no cell phones were allowed in the clinic. After Arthur listened to the message, it wasn’t long before he was frantically rushing out the door on his way to the hospital.

When he got to the hospital a nurse had to stop him and ask him a million questions before she would even tell Arthur what happened. Arthur was listed as Merlin’s emergency contact, but he still wasn’t family. “Sorry, but you can’t prove that you’re engaged. Even if you are, it doesn’t change anything, you're not married. All we can tell you is that Merlin was in a car accident, that he is in critical condition, and will be held here till he stabilizes. But we can’t allow you to see him. I'm sorry.”

“So you're telling me the only reason I can't see him is because I'm not married?” The woman gave Arthur an uncomfortable look, as if she disapproved. Arthur scowled at her; it took everything in his power not to scream in her face. He knew what this was about.

She pretended to reread her chart. “You are not married, so it doesn’t even matter. And if you were it would be considered a same-sex union, which technically isn't a marriage. You may see him when he is stable and during visiting hours.”

_Fucking bitch._

The nurse walked back to her station and Arthur clenched his fists. He could feel his skin stretch over his knuckles as he squeezed tighter and tighter. He wanted to be mad about her ‘same-sex union’ comment. He wanted to be mad about how she implied that Arthur's concerns didn’t matter because he was not married to Merlin. He wanted to be mad about how she was the most unhelpful she could have possibly been. But what was really eating at him was that he couldn’t see Merlin. And in the end, that's all he wanted to do. He didn’t really care about the other stuff while he was still apart from his other half.

Critical condition. Anything could change at any moment, and Arthur couldn’t see Merlin until he was stable. That is, if he stabilized. No. Wait. Arthur hated the thoughts coming into his head. Of course Merlin would be fine. He had to be. But what if he wasn’t? There was no way to know for sure, and no one here was going to help Arthur. He should to try to calm himself down till he got answers. But there was no way he could do that, really. How could he be calm while filled with uncertainty and concern.

Arthur was still standing in the same spot where he had talked to the nurse. He was fuming. After a moment, his worry had turned into anger. He hated just standing around and waiting. Arthur needed to do something. “I would like to speak to your supervisor,” Arthur demanded.

The same nurse he had spoken with earlier looked up at him from her computer. She had messy brown hair and an ugly floral scrub top. “I’m sorry, but she is not available at the moment.”

“Christina!” Another nurse chimed in, looking at the first with a disapproving scowl. “Let him talk to Morgana. She isn't busy."

The first nurse, Christina, shot the second a nasty look. “Stay out of this,, Gwen.”

“No,” the nurse called Gwen responded defiantly, then turned to Arthur. “I’m sorry, sir. Let me just go get the head nurse.” She disappeared into the back office.

Arthur shot Christina a victorious glower. “Thank you for your help.” He tried to sound as insincere as possible.

Gwen returned with a tall, pale woman following behind her. She was in a dark green scrubs set and her long black hair was in a single low ponytail that fell down her back along her spine. “Hello, sir. What can I do for you?”

Arthur glanced from the nurses at the nurse station watching him to the head nurse. “I would like to see my fiancé, please.” He was still fuming, and he was ready to argue with this woman as well if he had to.

“Of course.” Morgana held out her hand and Christina gave her a clipboard, probably Merlin’s chart. The tall woman flipped through the pages and then looked at Arthur. “He is listed as the emergency contact.” She was looking at Arthur, but she was speaking to Christina. “Gwen tells me they are engaged."

"Well -" Christina started.

But Morgana cut her off. "There are no family members listed. What is our policy, Christina?”

“He said that they were engaged, but how do we know he is telling the truth?” she asked defensively.

“That wasn’t my question,” Nurse Morgana remarked as she turned to look at the woman behind her.

The other nurse finally gave up and looked down at her hands. “A patient’s emergency contact is to be treated as a family member if there are no other contacts listed," she recited dryly. "But they wouldn’t -”

“Christina!” the head nurse yelled. The nurse’s station went quiet and each nurse was watching the interaction carefully. Arthur was a bit stunned too. He was glad someone was finally allowing him access to Merlin, but Morgana was pretty terrifying, he had to admit.

Morgana turned back to Arthur with a forced smile. “Let’s get you to his room, sir.”

 

~~~

 

Arthur had been up for 28 hours straight. Nothing had changed with Merlin in that time. He was still unconscious and was going in and out of stable condition. They nearly lost him a few times, but now at least he was not in danger of coding. The doctors weren’t sure how long it would last, though.

The monitors beeped quietly as Arthur sat in a chair next to Merlin’s bed. Merlin’s hand was freezing and Arthur hoped he could offer some warmth as he held it tight. Arthur tapped the button on Merlin’s remote to get a nurse to bring in some more blankets. Then, he gave up; he had called in a nurse every five minutes for something. Every little thing worried Arthur, and the nurses started to ignore most of the calls coming from this room. Arthur threw the remote to the end of the bed and looked despondently at Merlin.

“We were supposed to get married, Merlin. You had better stop this nonsense right now so we can go and do that like we planned.” Arthur didn’t care if talking to Merlin was crazy, it seemed more crazy to sit in silence and listen to the machines that were keeping Merlin alive. “You’re doing this on purpose because I forgot to do the dishes, aren't you?” Arthur could feel tears pool in his eyes as he spoke. “I swear to God, Merlin, I’ll pick up my socks from the tub.” He squeezed Merlin’s cold hand as a tear fell onto the bed between them. “Don’t you fucking do this to me. Not now. Please, Merlin. I’ll do anything.” Arthur’s head fell and he let out a pathetically weak sob.

Suddenly, a monitor began beeping rapidly and a nurse ran into the room to respond. A doctor followed shortly after. One of them directed Arthur out of the room so they could work on Merlin. He didn’t know how they got him out of the room each time this happened, but they did. Just like the last seven times Merlin tried to die, Arthur was forced to stand outside the door, helpless. The only thing he could do was try will Merlin to live with his thoughts. Which was crazy. He wanted to do something. But he couldn’t.

Arthur believed in Merlin more than anything. And so far, Arthur had always been allowed back into the room to talk to his fiancé, and try again to convince him not to give up.

 

~~~

 

“It’s not likely he will make it through the night.” Dr. Gaius was telling Arthur this for the fourth time. He had been trying to prepare Arthur for the worst, but Arthur refused to allow himself to believe the doctor.

“I’m sorry, but Merlin is going to get all the help that you can possibly give him. I’m not giving up on him. No matter what the cost.” Arthur crossed his arms, feeling like he was arguing with a child that wanted a toy he couldn’t have.

Dr. Gaius sighed as if he had heard it all before. “We will do our best, Mr. Pendragon, but soon a decision will need to be made.”

“What decision?” The doctor had began to stand up, but was stopped by Arthur’s abrupt response.

He turned to look down at Arthur who was still sitting. "Arthur -"

"There is no decision. Merlin will live.”

“Arthur -”

“That’s the end of the discussion, Doctor.” Arthur stood up and walked back into Merlin’s room. There was nothing the doctor could say that would change his mind. Even if Dr. Gaius was right, Arthur would never give up on Merlin so easily. They had to keep trying. If there was no chance of recovery, Arthur would still find hope. There was always hope when it came to Merlin. Nothing would make Arthur stop believing that.

 

~~~

 

Two days had passed. The doctors had finally given up on asking Arthur if they should continue life support. They knew what he would say. It didn’t matter how many bills Arthur was racking up, Merlin’s well being came before anything else. He could just hear Merlin scolding him for the cost later. That thought brought a small smile to Arthur’s lips. It faded quickly.

Arthur hadn’t left the hospital since he first came for Merlin. He hadn’t even left Merlin’s room - save for the times he was pulled out during one of Merlin’s code's. Despite Merlin’s still-critical condition, he seemed to be doing a lot better. He had not woken up yet, but the scars on his face had diminished and the swelling in his cheeks and arm had reduced tremendously.

What the doctors were worried most about now was his brain. The fluid that was pooling in the brain was what had caused him to crash so many times. However, they were able to drain most of it yesterday, and since then he had not coded or even come close. In fact, Dr. Gaius seemed confident that they were ready to take him off life support soon. If he remained stable for another 24 hours, they would feel much more comfortable about his condition.

He would.

It was Merlin. Of course he would pull through.

 

~~~

 

It had been a week since the accident. By all accounts Merlin was stable, but he still hadn’t woken up. His brain activity was slowly decreasing and he was still on life support. While he wasn’t getting worse, he was not getting any better, either. Arthur had said he would not give up on Merlin. And he wouldn’t. But he had never struggled with something more in his entire life.

It was Wednesday. Every Wednesday the two of them would try to do something together. They both had that night off each week and it was either go out or stay in, as long as they were together they were happy. Sometimes Merlin would surprise Arthur with take-out. Othertimes, Arthur would try and cook. They never really had a plan, but it always seemed to work out.

“We’ll stay in tonight, Merlin,” Arthur whispered from his chair next to Merlin’s bed. “We can watch a movie.”

It was becoming more difficult to talk to Merlin. After so much silence, Arthur found it difficult not to think that he would never get a response again. Arthur’s head was heavy with sleep; he had not slept a full night since the accident. He wasn’t thinking clearly. Of course he would hear Merlin's voice again.

The oxygen tube was laced around Merlin’s ears and connected to the tank above his head. His breathing was a bit labored, but it was steady again deep. The scars on his face were nearly healed, and the stitches above his eye were gone. He had an actual cast on his left arm now, not the flimsy temporary one. He looked so peaceful sleeping there in the giant white bed.

Arthur crawled up onto the bed with him. Merlin looked so alone, and Arthur couldn’t sleep sitting up anymore. The nurses had always advised against it, but Arthur couldn’t stand sleeping without Merlin. He needed to be close to his lover, he needed to hear his heart beating in his chest, he needed to feel Merlin’s breath on the back of his neck. Arthur needed to make sure that he was the first to know when Merlin did wake up.

For just a moment Arthur felt enough peace to sleep.

“You smell horrible, Arthur.”

Arthur’s head shot up. He must have been dreaming, but...

Merlin’s eyes were slits, but they were open, even if it was just barely. Arthur sat up in the bed and stared stupidly at Merlin. “Merlin!”

“Yeah?” Merlin responded groggily with a confused and slightly annoyed face. “What is wrong with you?”

Arthur let a out a laugh and fell back onto Merlin with a thud. “Thank fucking Jesus Christ you are all right,” Arthur said into Merlin’s chest.

Merlin was silent for a moment then he softly said, “What happened, Arthur?”

Arthur was solemn as he sat up again to face Merlin. “You were in an accident…” For some reason Arthur felt a wave of emotion rush over him. He finally realized what really could have happened to Merlin. For the past week, Arthur hadn’t allowed himself to believe he would lose Merlin, but now, looking at Merlin, he realized that he very well could have. “You were…”

Merlin shifted in the bed and furrowed his brow. He seemed deeply concerned. “Arthur. Hey, I’m okay.” He took Arthur’s hand and pulled Arthur in closer. “Come here. It’s okay.”

“I don’t know what I would have done without you, Merlin.”

The room was silent for a moment as the words sunk in. Then Merlin choked back a soft sob. “I’m sorry, Arthur. I’m sorry I almost left you.”

Arthur looked up at Merlin and wanted to say something, but could only smile. Merlin was awake. After a week, Merlin was finally awake and talking! He had made it, just like Arthur had always believed. Merlin was right; things were going to be okay now. Arthur kept smiling at Merlin, finally allowing himself to feel the joy that he had long anticipated. Without anymore hesitation, Arthur earnestly kissed his fiancé knowing that he had him back for good.

He pulled away slowly, eyes still closed. “I love you for-fucking-ever, Merlin. Don’t you ever leave me again.”

Merlin chuckled quietly and Arthur looked at him lovingly. “I’m sorry, Arthur. I’ll do my best.”

They looked into each other's eyes and Arthur knew that he and Merlin were forever, and that no matter what, Merlin would always come back to him. No matter how bad things got, Merlin was a constant that Arthur couldn’t, and wouldn't, get rid of. “Good. I forgive you, love.”

“Truce?”

“Truce.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is an old one. I wanted to do a jealous Arthur and came up with that first scene. It was supposed to end there, hence the title, but I continued it. I love this Arthur because he is so in love with Merlin. I mean, Arthur is always so in love with Merlin, but this one just can't function without his baby. Anyway, you know the drill: comments are welcome, we love you. Kay bye.


End file.
